Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION REGULAR CALLED MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, March 20, 2024 The Economic Prosperity Commission convened in a REGULAR CALLED meeting on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 301 W. 2nd Street, Room 1101, Austin, Texas. Vice Chair Michael Nahas called the Economic Prosperity Commission Meeting to order at 6:37 p.m.  Board Members/Commissioners in Attendance in Person: Raquel Valdez Sanchez (3), Michael Nahas (4), Luis Osta Lugo (8),  Board Members/Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Benjamin Salazar (2), Kelsey Hitchingham (10), Laura Dixon (Mayor)  Absent: Tina Cannon (9), Christiana Ponder (1), Amy Noel (7)  Vacancy: District 5, District 6 PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Economic Prosperity Commission Regular Meeting on February 21, 2024. The minutes from the meeting of February 21, 2024, were approved on Commissioner Osta Lugo’s motion, Commissioner Valdez Sanchez’s second on a 6-0 vote. Commissioners Cannon, Ponder, and Noel were absent. WORKING GROUP/COMMITTEE UPDATES 2. Updates from the Jobs, Procurement, and Infrastructure working groups. At the commission’s February 21, 2024 meeting, the working groups were asked to contribute to the commission’s budget recommendation to City Council (Agenda Item 3). The Procurement and Infrastructure working groups were not able to meet since the February 21, 2024 meeting; they have no updates.  Update from the Jobs working group (Commissioners Nahas, Valdez Sanchez, Salazar): they met yesterday to discuss potential budget recommendations, talked mostly about City Council’s proposed resolution for an Austin 1  Infrastructure Academy, whose goal is to train people in construction and infrastructure jobs. They also discussed the Austin Urban Technology Movement, which offers training in the technology industry and is a potential speaker at a future commission meeting. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 3. Discuss and approve the commission’s recommendation to City Council for the City’s FY 2024-2025 budget. Vice Chair Nahas shared with the commission potential budget recommendations related to renters, retirement programs, and sales-tax income. During this agenda item Commissioner Dixon moved off the virtual dais, creating a loss of quorum, so the commission did not take action on any potential recommendation and moved on to the remaining discussion-only items. DISCUSSION ITEMS 4. Discuss entrepreneur-in-residence programs at universities and how these programs can foster and retain talent locally. Commissioner Osta Lugo led discussion on the limited availability of these types of programs, the potential for them to be used in Austin for international students to live in Texas by running their own company, and the potential for the City of Austin to support these types of programs to assist with local workforce needs. There was a general interest in further research and inviting expert speakers. Update from commission’s representative on the City’s Joint Sustainability Committee. The representative is Commissioner Amy Noel; at the commission’s February 21, 2024 meeting, the board approved Commissioner Osta Lugo as backup representative. Commissioner Noel was absent so no update was provided. 5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS  April 2024 Meeting: annual nominations and elections for a new Chair and Vice Chair for a one-year term of office.  May 2024 Meeting: possible speakers related to entrepreneur-in-residence programs to be invited by Commissioners Valdez Sanchez and Salazar. Chair Hitchingham adjourned the meeting at 7:31 p.m. without objection. ********** These minutes were approved at the April 17, 2024 meeting on Commissioner Osta Lugo’s motion, Commissioner Nahas’ second on a 6-0 vote. Commissioners Dixon, Salazar, and Valdez Sanchez were absent. 2